1, in memory of Qu Yuan
According to the historian Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, Qu Yuan was a minister of Chu Huaiwang in the Spring and Autumn Period. He advocated the use of talents, empowerment, and prosperity, and advocated joint resistance to Qin, which was strongly opposed by others. Qu Yuan was forced to leave his post, was driven out of the capital and exiled to the Yuan and Xiang river basins. During his exile, he wrote immortal poems such as Li Sao, Tian Wen and Tian Wen, which have a unique style and far-reaching influence (therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Poet's Day). In 278 BC, Qin Jun conquered Kyoto of Chu. Seeing that his motherland was invaded, Qu Yuan was heartbroken, but he was always reluctant to give up his motherland. On May 5th, after writing his masterpiece Huai Sha, he died in Miluo River and wrote a magnificent patriotic movement with his own life.
Legend has it that after Qu Yuan's death, the people of Chu were so sad that they flocked to the Miluo River to pay homage to Qu Yuan. The fisherman paddled the boat and fished for his real body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other foods prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river, saying that ichthyosaurs, shrimps and crabs were full and would not bite the doctor. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took an altar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying that he would stun the dragon water beast with medicine so as not to hurt Dr. Qu. Later, people were afraid that rice balls would be eaten by dragons, so they came up with the idea of wrapping rice with neem leaves and then wrapping it with colored silk to make it develop into brown seeds.
After that, on the fifth day of May every year, there is the custom of dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine. In memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
2. In memory of Wu Zixu.
The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, commemorates Wu Zixu in the Spring and Autumn Period (770- 476 BC). Wu Zixu, a famous Chu national, and his father and brother were all killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark and went to Wu to help Wu to attack Chu, and entered the capital city of Chu in the Five Wars. At that time, King Chu Ping was already dead. Zixu dug a grave and whipped 300 bodies to avenge his father's murder. After the death of He Lu, the king of Wu, his son Fu Cha succeeded to the throne. Wu Jun's morale was high and he was defeated by Yue. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, made peace, and Fu Cha agreed. Zi Xu suggested the complete elimination of Yue, but Fu Cha didn't listen. Wu was massacred and bought by the state of Yue. He was framed by slanderers. Fu Cha believed him and gave him a sword. Zi Xu died. Zixu, a loyal minister, feels like death. Before he died, he said to his neighbors, "After I die, I will gouge out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Jason Wu, watching the Vietnamese army enter the city and destroy Wu." Then he killed himself. Fu Cha was furious after hearing this. On May 5th, he wrapped Zixu's body in leather and threw it into the river. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.
3, in memory of filial daughter Cao E said
The third legend of Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E who saved her drowning father in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 23-220). Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and didn't see her body for several days. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old, crying day and night by the river. 17 days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5, and fished out his father's body five days later. This was passed down as a myth, and then to the governor of the county government, who made it a monument for disciple Han Danchun to make a eulogy.
The tomb of the filial daughter is in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province today, and there is a monument made by Jin. Later, in order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, Cao E Temple was built where Cao E threw himself into the river. The village where she lived was renamed Cao E Town, and the place where Cao E died was named Cao E River. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E.
4. It originated from the totem sacrifice theory of the ancient Yue nationality.
A large number of cultural relics unearthed in modern times and archaeological studies have confirmed that in the Neolithic age, there was a cultural relic with geometric prints and pottery ruins in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. According to experts, the remaining tribe is a tribe that worships dragon totem-known as Baiyue in history. The decorative patterns and historical legends on unearthed pottery show that they have the custom of tattooing constantly, live in a water town and compare themselves to the descendants of dragons. Among its production tools, there are a large number of stone tools, as well as small bronzes such as shovels and chisels. As daily necessities, the printed pottery ding used for cooking food is unique to them and is one of the symbols of their ethnic group. Until the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were still more than 100 Vietnamese people, and the Dragon Boat Festival was a festival for their ancestors.
5. Dragon Boat Festival theory
This statement comes from Wen Yiduo's Dragon Boat Festival Examination and Dragon Boat Festival History Education. He believed that the fifth day of May was the day when the "Dragon" tribe in ancient wuyue held totem sacrifices.
The main reasons are:
(1) Eating zongzi and dragon boat racing are the two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, both of which are related to dragons. Zongzi thrown into the water is often stolen by dragons, and dragon boat races.
(2) The relationship between race crossing and ancient wuyue is particularly deep. Besides, Wuyue people have the custom of tattooing constantly to look like a dragon.
(3) The ancient folk custom of "tying the arm with colored silk" on the fifth day of May should be a relic of the tattoo custom of "Like a dragon".
6. Bad one-day taboo theory
People in the Han Dynasty believed that May 5th was an evil month and day, and there was a custom of "not mentioning May", that is, babies born on May 5th could not be raised by men or women. Once raised, men will harm their fathers and women will harm their mothers. There are even some sayings, such as "When May comes, you will never move again" and "When you build a house in May, your head will be bald". This custom has been popular since the Warring States and the Han Dynasty at the latest. This custom is recorded in Lun Heng by Chong, Custom Tong by Ying Shao and the Book of the Later Han Dynasty.
May 5th is an evil month and an evil day. In order to eliminate the plague, drive away evil spirits and seek good luck, related cultural activities came into being, and the Dragon Boat Festival became quite distinctive.
7. summer solstice theory
The founder of the summer solstice theory is Mr. Huang Shi. 1963, in his book History of the Customs and Habits of the Dragon Boat Festival (published by Hong Kong Qinxing Bookstore 1963), he proposed that the Dragon Boat Festival originated in ancient times, with three generations flowing in parallel, and expanded into rivers in Qin and Han Dynasties and lakes and seas in Tang and Song Dynasties.
The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the summer solstice theory, and scholars have studied it from a broader perspective. 1983, Mr. Liu Deqian thought that the Dragon Boat Festival came from the summer solstice in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties in another article, On the Origin of Dragon Boat Festival (Knowledge of Literature and History, No.5, 1983), and proposed that Qu Yuan had nothing to do with "fighting a hundred herbs" or "collecting miscellaneous medicines" during the Dragon Boat Festival. Liu Deqian put forward three main reasons in Dragon Boat Festival and China Traditional Festival: (1) The authoritative book "The Story of the Years of Jingchu" did not mention the festival custom of eating zongzi on the fifth day of May, but was written on the solstice in summer. As for the race, Du Taiqing's Jade Candle Collection in Sui Dynasty listed it as an entertainment activity from summer to the sun, which shows that it is not necessarily to salvage Qu Yuan, a great poet who threw himself into the river. (2) Some contents in the custom of Dragon Boat Festival, such as "stepping on a hundred herbs", "fighting a hundred herbs" and "picking herbs", have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. (3) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in Ji Huali is: "The sun shines, and the Dragon Boat Festival is in midsummer, so it can also be called midsummer festival. Therefore, the earliest origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is the summer solstice.
At the international academic conference held in Seoul, South Korea from June 5 to April 38, 2006, Mr. He, a researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of China Academy of Social Sciences, once again perfected the summer theory and put forward the view that the Dragon Boat Festival is summer.
8, from the orchid bath theory.
According to the Book of Rites, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the orchid bath in the Zhou Dynasty. The ancients picked bluegrass in May, and bathed and detoxified bluegrass soup was popular. Dai Zhuan: "In May, ... boiled plums for beans and saved orchids for bathing." Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs and Clouds": "Bathing orchid soup is like a square wood, and Chinese clothes are like English." The Chronicle of Jingchu, written by Liang people in the Southern Dynasties, said, "May 5th is called the Yulan Festival." This custom spread to the Tang and Song Dynasties, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival bathing orchid month.
9. Commemorative meson deduction
According to Cai Yong's Cao Qin in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Dragon Boat Festival is a festival to commemorate the sages.
10, which originated from Gou Jian's theory of training water army.
In the Song Dynasty, Gao Cheng published the article "The Origin of Things". The Dragon Boat Festival originated from Gou Jian, the King of Yue in the Spring and Autumn Period. He practiced the water army every day.